North Delta residence destroyed in fire

A house across the street from North Delta’s historic Trinity Lutheran Church is in ruins after catching on fire in the early hours of Saturday, July 8.

The Delta Fire Department received a call about the fire at 3:24 a.m. on Saturday, and arrived at the house, located at 11041 River Rd., to see flames leaping out of the red-tiled roof.

The seven occupants had evacuated the building by the time the department arrived. Because the residents had left the building, fire crews took a defensive approach to tackling the blaze, which meant they did not enter the building.

Fire crews were on scene until Saturday evening. No one was injured in the fire.

The owner’s insurance company has constructed a fence around the perimetre of the property and has hired a security guard to monitor the building for hot spots.

The investigation is ongoing and the cause of the fire has not been determined.

This is not the first time the house has been in the news; it was featured on the cover of the August 19, 2011 edition of The Province as the location of a local swingers club called Club Allure.

Delta Police could not confirm it was the same house, although pictures, in-article descriptions and local lore indicate it was.

On a post in the North Delta Community Corner Facebook group discussing Saturday’s fire, North Delta residents referring to the residence as the “couples’ house” and the “tiki torch house,” with one commenter saying that “when the tiki torches were lit, the party was on.”

The history of the club is murky, although it is clear the club hasn’t operated out of the North Delta home for some time.